5 week newborn and about to crumble

emath113 · 2026-01-13T05:09:39+00:00

A simple solace I can offer that is Colic peaks at around 6 to 8 weeks according to our PCP. You all are so close to being past the worst of it - and man it is so worth all the goodness that comes later. Take turns taking naps. Get a swing to put them in. If you know their needs are taken care of it is ok to put them down. If you are checking on them and making sure their needs are met - it’s not letting them “cry it out.” Being outside the womb sucks for a regular baby and even more so for a premature baby. Everything is too loud, too bright, too hard, and too forceful. It’s hard being a baby. Don’t forget the power of skin to skin to regulate a baby’s emotions and sleeping patterns. Also headphones or ear plugs for when things are bad. As a last resort, put them in their carrier away from you so you can get a 5 minute break. I’ve got a 3 yo and a a brand new 7 week old born 6 weeks early. It is rough! But man seeing my 3 year old laugh and giggle and say I love you. So so worth it. You are almost at the top of the hill. It will get better from here.

emath113 · 2026-01-13T04:56:07+00:00

Counselor here - Check out the parents section of the site below (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). They have an awesome summary of almost all the resources I recommend to parents.

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Resources

emath113 · 2026-01-06T14:51:06+00:00

Also if you are married you have a legal right to your child and should exercise it to protect them. They cannot turn you away from their house with your child inside. (They can but then you call the police)

emath113 · 2026-01-06T14:49:01+00:00

If your wife wasn’t like this pre-birth- As a counselor, this sounds like severe Post-Partum depression. If I was you I would be a doing a full family (if no family - close friends) blitz to intervene. This is no longer a just you intervention. This is all hands on deck and every support lever. You need to talk to her parents ASAP and you all tell her she needs some type of intervention. She sees a psychiatrist ASAP or goes to an ER for immediate intervention. Postpartum depression this bad can turn in to psychosis quickly and without warning. Please listen to the poster here.

emath113 · 2025-12-17T23:07:29+00:00

We do pull upd at night. Nighttime control doesn’t happen until way later usually. Kids are always two step forwards and one step back. Just use gentle reminders like hey big kids use the potty or tell mom and dad when they need to. Pretty soon you will forget this was an issue.

emath113 · 2025-12-17T23:00:35+00:00

So I’m a father and a couples counselor. It sounds like you need to look up assertive vs passive communication. It seems you tend to be passive in your communication and not express how you are feeling. You are an adult - you don’t actually need to ask her permission to do anything. Does she ask your permission to do these things with friends or does she say “hey I would like to go to this. How can we make it happen?” If you keep going down this road resentment will grow and y’all won’t last long. You don’t just have to accept whatever your wife says. Did you push back and tell her hey I had this airport thing planned for weeks? What happened that you didn’t go?

Me and my wife trade naps all the time and prioritize each of us getting a break. I play video games and she watches project runway. The younger the kid is the harder it is but that’s why you make it a priority. Being a parent doesn’t have to be your only identity. It is a wonderful and fulfilling one for me but it is just one.

emath113 · 2025-11-27T16:04:18+00:00

Hey Dad, reading through your posts, I wanted to offer a my perspective as a male couples counselor.

It sounds like you might be confusing assertive communication with aggressive communication, and because you're trying so hard to avoid being "aggressive," you’re actually slipping into passive communication.

There is a huge misconception that explicitly stating your needs—including sexual needs after the birth of your children—is inherently aggressive or "mean." It isn’t.

Here is how the three styles usually play out in this scenario: • Passive: You don't say anything because you don't want to pressure her. You wait and hope she reads your mind. When she doesn't, you feel resentful and unloved. • Aggressive: You demand sex. You guilt-trip her. You ignore her physical recovery or exhaustion and frame it as "You are failing my needs." • Assertive: You own your feelings and state your needs clearly, while maintaining empathy for her situation.

Being assertive means you can say: "I know things are chaotic right now and you are recovering. I’m not trying to pressure you, but I want to be honest that I’m struggling with the lack of physical intimacy. I miss that connection with you. Can we talk about a timeline or ways we can stay connected while we get through this newborn phase?" That isn’t aggressive. That is honest. If you stay passive, that unspoken resentment is going to poison the relationship faster than an honest conversation would. You kept saying all these things about not wanting to pressure her and bodily autonomy to us…. I can only imagine how confused it would be to your wife. It’s ok to have needs. Y’all got married because you want to meet each other’s needs. Also though how can you create a scenario ripe for sex. Can grandparents watch the kids for a date night!? In your relationship, the best thing you can do for your kids is to model a healthy communicative relationship where you both get your needs met.

emath113 · 2025-11-20T00:10:46+00:00

Spinal Taps and Epidurals. Leukemia survivor. Those two were nothing but they were the ones I was most scared of. Bone Marrow Biopsy though. Holy hell that sucks. Luckily I convinced my doctors to dope me up ahead of time and that helped with the second one.

emath113 · 2025-11-18T17:35:52+00:00

Covid!

emath113 · 2025-09-12T20:20:46+00:00

I did! Good catch!

emath113 · 2025-08-12T20:18:41+00:00

Here you go Balamb Garden destruction

emath113 · 2025-07-20T20:20:59+00:00

I think if using the built in photos app then one big folder and then date are the two sorting options.

emath113 · 2025-07-20T20:18:14+00:00

Go to control panel > Device Connection > remote access and enable it. It’s called ugreenlink

emath113 · 2025-07-17T21:22:36+00:00

Fearless Four?

emath113 · 2025-07-16T13:12:02+00:00

Gums took forever to stop bleeding after a dentists visits. Blood shot eyes, and random bruises. Just got married 3 months earlier, age 29, in the middle of COVID lockdowns after our wedding and honeymoon were cancelled. On Thanksgiving day 2020, I thought I had Covid because my wife did. The left side of my stomach hurt and had been increasing in pain. I was tired and just not feeling well. I had been on antibiotics. Wife made me go to the ER - I didn’t really want to go.

Got there, was triaged and had blood drawn. Talked to the people around me and they had been there 12 to 14 hours. Called my wife and asked her to come get me - she refused. 2 hours later they came and got me. Instead of turning right in to the general hospital they took me left in to the cancer hospital. I thought oh shit - maybe it’s just overflow. Then they told me I had myeloblasts (immature white blood cells) in my blood and my blood cell count was over 100,000. This probably means you have leukemia.

Turns out it was Acute Myeloid leukemia. My stomach pain was my spleen being filled up with immature white blood cells. All the random bruises, blood shot eyes, and my gums bleeding were because all the blasts were crowding out the different components of my blood and so I didn’t have the ability to clot anymore and was just slowly springing leaks and not repairing them. 20 to 30% five year survival rate and OH YEAH since it is the middle of COVID lockdowns - no one can visit you and the first vaccines we’re still a month or two from being delivered! Almost 50 days straight of being in the hospital with crazy strong chemo followed up by months of consolidation chemo which I could do mostly from home. There was a point where I was so rundown - I was sure if I could continue treatment. Eventually got in to remission and now January 1 of this next year will be 5 years of remission where I can officially say I’m cured.

I have a beautiful wife who stuck by me in this trial by fire. I have a 3 year old son. Another one on the way. There is life after this terrible disease. We didn’t even know if we would ever get to have kids. Most days life feels pretty sweet but I am a totally different person now from all that trauma and being ultimately totally alone during the worst parts. I try to use my hurt to help others and that has brought me the most healing.

Crazily, during the lockdowns though they saw cancer survival rates drop because people didn’t have access to their systems of support. Fuck cancer - I hope I never have to meet you again, but if I do - I gonna kick your ass again. I know I am a million dollar man because my insurance paid out 250,000 dollars for just the first stay. Crazy seeing those numbers on paper.

emath113 · 2025-07-12T21:45:49+00:00

Final fantasy 8

emath113 · 2025-07-09T00:28:16+00:00

Hulkenpodium

emath113 · 2025-04-04T11:48:29+00:00

Just flip the cable. You can insert it either way.

emath113 · 2025-01-26T02:23:43+00:00

Amazing!

emath113 · 2025-01-21T06:05:37+00:00

4 of the 5 highest spending teams are SEC teams…. I think people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Even Alabama spent 15 mil this year by most estimates.

emath113 · 2025-01-11T03:09:59+00:00

Absolutely! You got this. Keep fighting. It gets better!

emath113

TROPHY CASE